Microskirt
Encyclopedia
Skirt
A skirt is a tube- or cone-shaped garment that hangs from the waist and covers all or part of the legs.In the western world, skirts are usually considered women's clothing. However, there are exceptions...
. It is shorter than a miniskirt
Miniskirt
A miniskirt, sometimes hyphenated as mini-skirt, is a skirt with a hemline well above the knees – generally no longer than below the buttocks; and a minidress is a dress with a similar meaning...
, being less than 8 inches (20.3 cm) in length. At that length, the microskirt exposes the thigh
Thigh
In humans the thigh is the area between the pelvis and the knee. Anatomically, it is part of the lower limb.The single bone in the thigh is called the femur...
s and the lower portion of the buttocks
Buttocks
The buttocks are two rounded portions of the anatomy, located on the posterior of the pelvic region of apes and humans, and many other bipeds or quadrupeds, and comprise a layer of fat superimposed on the gluteus maximus and gluteus medius muscles. Physiologically, the buttocks enable weight to...
, as well as part of the underwear. To avoid exposure of the buttocks and underwear, a microskirt is sometimes worn with tights
Tights
Tights are a kind of cloth leg garment, most often sheathing the body from about the waist to the feet with a more or less tight fit, hence the name....
, leggings
Leggings
Leggings are a type of fitted clothing covering the legs, which can be worn by both men and women.Originally leggings were two separate garments, one for each leg....
, shorts
Shorts
Shorts are a bifurcated garment worn by both men and women over their pelvic area, circling the waist, and covering the upper part of the legs, sometimes extending down to or even below the knee, but not covering the entire length of the leg. They are called "shorts" because they are a shortened...
or bloomers
Bloomers (clothing)
Bloomers is a word which has been applied to several types of divided women's garments for the lower body at various times.-Fashion bloomers :...
, but is also worn with bare legs
Bare legs
Bare legs is the state in which a person does not cover his or her legs with any clothing in a public space.It may be for functional reasons, for example, to keep cooler in hot weather or during physical exercise...
. They are predominantly worn by teenage girls or young women to evoke an impression of cheekiness and playfulness
Flirting
Flirting is a playful, romantic, or sexual overture by one person to another subtly indicating an interest in a deeper relationship with the other person, and can involve verbal communication as well as body language...
, especially when accompanied with appropriate body language
Body language
Body language is a form of non-verbal communication, which consists of body posture, gestures, facial expressions, and eye movements. Humans send and interpret such signals almost entirely subconsciously....
and in an appropriate social context. It is sometimes humorously referred to as a beltskirt and is described as more an evocation of the idea of a skirt than something that covers anything substantial. Microskirts are rarely worn as streetwear
Streetwear
Street wear is a distinctive style of fashion not to be confused with hip hop fashion. Its roots are in skateboarding and the "skatewear" of the 1980s. It was later adopted as an urban fashion in Japan before growing to an international business...
, but commonly worn by cheer girl
Cheerleading
Cheerleading is a physical activity, sometimes a competitive sport, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate...
s.
The microskirt is regarded by some as being chosen by those who have a desire, conscious or subconscious, to expose their lower buttocks. Stretch microskirts are sometimes made using Spandex
Spandex
Spandex or elastane is a synthetic fibre known for its exceptional elasticity. It is strong, but less durable than natural Latex, its major non-synthetic competitor. It is a polyurethane-polyurea copolymer that was co-invented in 1959 by chemists C. L. Sandquist and Joseph Shivers at DuPont's...
material which are often worn by the more daring in conjunction with hold-ups
Hold-ups
Hold-ups or stay-ups are stockings with a band of elastic sewn to the top, designed to hold the stockings up when worn, without the need for a garter belt or garters...
and a pair of stiletto heel
Stiletto heel
A stiletto heel is a long, thin, high heel found on some boots and shoes, usually for women. It is named after the stiletto dagger, the phrase being first recorded in the early 1930s...
pumps, and sometimes with G-string
G-string
A G-string is a type of thong underwear or swimsuit, a narrow piece of cloth, leather, or plastic, that covers or holds the genitals, passes between the buttocks, and is attached to a band around the hips, worn as swimwear or underwear by women and men...
underwear.
Microskirts are often worn by singers during performances, such as by Fergie, Micky Green
Micky Green
Micky Green is the professional name of an Australian-born pop singer , who presently resides in Paris. Her forebears include Dutch and German lines. She left home at 18 to work in modeling...
, Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
and others. They have also on occasion been worn without controversy by celebrities, such as Gwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth Kate Paltrow is an American actress and singer. She made her acting debut on stage in 1990 and started appearing in films in 1991. After appearing in several films throughout the decade, Paltrow gained early notice for her work in films such as Se7en and Emma...
.
The microskirt appeared in Europe in the late 1960s following the popularity of the miniskirt made famous by designers such as Mary Quant
Mary Quant
Mary Quant OBE FCSD is a British] fashion designer and British fashion icon, who was instrumental in the mod fashion movement. She was one of the designers who took credit for inventing the miniskirt and hot pants. Born in Blackheath, London, to Welsh parents, Quant brought fun and fantasy to...
. Early version of that period were merely shorter patterns and allowed rather more exposure of the thighs of the wearer. Shorter versions started becoming available and some were quite short, having the hem at about the top of the thighs so that there were often glimpses of underwear. A few people chose to wear even shorter styles that exposed some of the buttocks and some considered these rather risque as they showed more of the underwear at the front. There were rumours that some girls wore extremely short microskirts that were as little as 4 inches long and even tales of girls wearing them without underwear, though this cannot now be verified. By the early 1970s the microskirt was less favoured, the 'Hot Pants' having become popular. Skirt lengths tended to become longer until the 1990's and into the 2000's. Many are now wearing microskirts but they have not yet (2011) reached the heights of the late '60s and early '70s, though the trend appears to be for shorter skirts again.
Miniskirts were very popular in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, where they became part of school uniform
School uniform
A school uniform is an outfit—a set of standardized clothes—worn primarily for an educational institution. They are common in primary and secondary schools in various countries . When used, they form the basis of a school's dress code.Traditionally school uniforms have been largely subdued and...
s, and microskirts came to be worn within the kogal
Kogal
The kogal fashion involves wearing an outfit based on a Japanese school uniform, but with a shortened skirt, loose socks, and often dyed hair and a scarf as well. The phenomenon was prominent in the 1990s, but has since declined. The word "kogal" is anglicized from kogyaru, a contraction of kôkôsei...
subculture and by young girls practising panchira
Panchira
is an expression used by Japanese women to warn each other that their underwear is visible; the term carries risqué connotations similar to the phrase "your slip is showing" in English usage. The word is a portmanteau of and chira, the Japanese sound symbolism representing a glance or glimpse...
, a form of exhibitionism
Exhibitionism
Exhibitionism refers to a desire or compulsion to expose parts of one's body – specifically the genitals or buttocks of a man or woman, or the breasts of a woman – in a public or semi-public circumstance, in crowds or groups of friends or acquaintances, or to strangers...
.
The microskirt became common on Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an catwalks after 2000, especially after Tom Ford
Tom Ford
Thomas Carlyle "Tom" Ford is an American fashion designer and film director. He gained international fame for his turnaround of the Gucci fashion house and the creation of the Tom Ford label before directing the Oscar-nominated film A Single Man.-Early life :Tom Ford was born August 27, 1961 in...
, the stylist at Gucci
Gucci
The House of Gucci, better known simply as Gucci , is an Italian fashion and leather goods label, part of the Gucci Group, which is owned by French company PPR...
, made a statement in September 2002 forecasting that microskirts will feature in the spring/summer 2003 collections."